I´ve kept that desire to impact the world, but with a different purpose: not to benefit myself and receive all the fame and glory, but instead, for Christ!

I encourage every young man or woman who is searching for meaning in his or her life to take up the challenge of giving for a year.

My hopes and dreams were the same as yours. As
a kid, did you not long to be an Olympic
champion, a famous astronaut, or even the president of the
United States? Like you and every other child, I wanted
to make an impact on the world, leave my mark
in history and pursue great adventures no woman had ever
challenged. God´s plan embarked me on the biggest adventure of
my life: the International Volunteer year. I´ve kept that desire
to impact the world, but with a different purpose: not
to benefit myself and receive all the fame and glory,
but instead, for Christ! The spark ignited during my first
encounter with the Regnum Christi Movement at the age of
11 when I was invited to attend a retreat in
my hometown, Gaylord, Michigan, given by some consecrated women traveling
through the area. I realized then that Christ had to
play the leading role in my life. That year, I
went to a Christmas convention in Rhode Island, and year
after year I returned. Looking back at it now I
realize that I was not drawn there because of all
the fun I had and the new friends I met,
although at the time I thought this was the reason.
There are plenty of other camps and places that I
could have gone to for the fun, but the one
thing offered to me at those conventions was something that
sports, dance, drama, and other groups could never offer: I
was offered Jesus Christ. That part in my soul that
could only be filled with Christ was beginning to be
filled. The tiny spark was being enkindled into a fire
of love for Christ and the thirst for more knowledge
and enthusiasm was growing stronger. I distinctly remember a time
during my third year attending the Rhode Island Christmas convention
when I sat in the chapel and began to sob.
I was feeling a tug on my heart to do
more. I started to question myself. Where would my dreams
of being an Olympic champion lead me? The only rewards
would be trophies and medals upon a shelf that would
collect dust and memories that would only linger in my
own mind. Would that really make me happy? It was
then that I decided that I would make my impact
for Christ. At age 11 I had incorporated into ECYD,
a world-wide group of youth living their Catholic faith and
fighting to give Christ to others, but not until I
was 13 did my life as an apostle for Christ
begin. During the next few years God kept feeding the
fire in my soul. I ushered for the Regnum Christi
Youth and Family Encounters (conferences with our founder) in Chicago
and St. Louis, went on numerous retreats, conventions, camps, and
even a pilgrimage to Rome for Pentecost in 1998. God
was slowly preparing me, giving the spiritual strength I would
need when making the bigger decisions that would soon emerge
in my life. When I was 13 I became the
team leader for an ECYD club in Gaylord, Michigan, because
our team leader decided to attend Immaculate Conception Academy, a
boarding school in Rhode Island for high school girls open
to the consecrated life. Before she left, she entrusted the
torch to Annie Smith and me to keep the club
running. Since then, the club has been passed on again
to Emily Dzwik and Rachel Castle, because both Annie Smith
and I are now Volunteers. As my senior year rolled
around, I felt myself gradually absorbed into the worldly desires
and typical interest of teenagers. My prayers became less frequent,
I was immersed in my sports, school work, applications for
college, class president responsibilities, hanging with my friends, and just
about everything else that could distract a teenager from focusing
on God. I was starting to slip and fall away
from everything ECYD had taught me. I started to doubt.
I blocked out the call to be a co-worker so
that I could fulfill my dreams of playing college softball.
Others constantly told me that I could always give a
year after college and that I shouldn´t give up my
dream of playing ball now that it was becoming so
tangible and after working so hard to make it possible.
I was starting to believe them and to rationalize with
myself. I was going to leave Christ with the "leftover
bread crumbs" of my life, instead of the fresh loaf.
Christ still had a hold of me though, whether I
realized it or not. My wakeup call came from the
words of a close friend: "It doesn´t matter what others
want you to do. Do what God wants." It was
then that I realized that I had started to put
God into my plans instead of putting myself into His
plans. Shortly after hearing those words, I went home, pulled
out my prayer journal, and began to write, "March 9,
2001, I´ve made my decision to give a year next
year..." There it was in writing! Now there was no
turning back. Every time I started to doubt I would
return to that page in my journal. I was done
running from God´s gentle call to give more. Currently, I
am stationed in Chicago working with girls between the ages
of 10 and 16. I wake up so many mornings
totally amazed that I am here. Who could have imagined
that I would be a co-worker, someone that long ago,
I had looked up to and admired. So far, it
has been the best year of my life. I thought
that I would be the one giving, but Christ always
seems to outdo me. The adventures that I had dreamed
to go on as a child are now becoming a
reality and it´s only the beginning. I encourage every young
man or woman who is searching for meaning in his
or her life to take up the challenge of giving
for a year. "For it is in giving that you
receive." Anne Westerman (18, Gaylord, Michigan)